Golden Globe Awards-Jodie Foster

[The Voice of Reason]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...s-on-strange-and-lonely-golden-globes-speech/

Why is this the lead story when so many actors, directors and movies were nominated for awards?
What about concentrating on the winners?

Plus it's not like Jodie Foster's "coming-out" was a big surprise. And if she decides to retire from show business.....big deal!

 

[LKellerIII]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...s-on-strange-and-lonely-golden-globes-speech/

Why is this the lead story when so many actors, directors and movies were nominated for awards?
What about concentrating on the winners?

Plus it's not like Jodie Foster's "coming-out" was a big surprise. And if she decides to retire from show business.....big deal!

Jodie "came out" years ago, as she indicated in her acceptance speech.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Guess the joke's on you, John Hinckley...

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Jodie "came out" years ago, as she indicated in her acceptance speech.

Again my point being.....so what?
People can be what they are, I personally don't care, however there gets to be a point where "enough is enough" with entertainers announcing their sexual orientation.
It's not news anymore!

 

[LKellerIII]

Jodie "came out" years ago, as she indicated in her acceptance speech.

Again my point being.....so what?
People can be what they are, I personally don't care, however there gets to be a point where "enough is enough" with entertainers announcing their sexual orientation.
It's not news anymore!

Maybe - but it wasn't so long ago that actors were afraid to come out of the closet, because they would stop getting roles in which they had to play heterosexuals...in other words, MOST roles.

So it's kind of an 'I'm gay and I'm proud' thing, and there may be a bit of bandwagon-hopping on their part, but we'd all better get used to it.

And many people still do care. Try googling celebrity names. Many times, the second or third most hits will be the heading "(Name) gay?"

That happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I googled Michael Strahan - Kelly Ripa's new co-host. I wanted to know more about the guy (not whether or not he was gay), and that popped up. I'm not much of a football fan, and had barely heard of the guy. For the record, he has a wife and kids, but also a slight lisp when he speaks, which is probably the genesis of the 'gay' rumors.

That's the kind of world we live in...

 

[landtuna]

Jodie "came out" years ago, as she indicated in her acceptance speech.

Again my point being.....so what?
People can be what they are, I personally don't care, however there gets to be a point where "enough is enough" with entertainers announcing their sexual orientation.
It's not news anymore!

My personal guess is that they do it to either give emotional support to other gays in the biz or to establish themselves as sort of a leader of the pro-gay movement - credibility, if you will.

I'm not sure what the average movie or TV viewer thinks of "coming out" but to me it damages the brand in a way. Every time I see Rock Hudson for instance I am reminded that he was at least bi if not gay and died of aids. It is therefore hypocrisy to watch him in a heterosexual love scene and reduces my enjoyment in his performances. I'm pretty sure this isn't the legacy he wanted to leave.

Unless someone like Rachel Maddow needs to make her orientation clear to support her op-ed or story pieces it is unnecessary IMHO to publicize one's bedroom preferences.

 

[LKellerIII]

I'm not sure what the average movie or TV viewer thinks of "coming out" but to me it damages the brand in a way. Every time I see Rock Hudson for instance I am reminded that he was at least bi if not gay and died of aids. It is therefore hypocrisy to watch him in a heterosexual love scene and reduces my enjoyment in his performances. I'm pretty sure this isn't the legacy he wanted to leave.

Really? Well, that's the kind of thing that gay actors have worried about, and why they don't come out. It reminds me of the stories I've heard about soap-opera villains getting cussed-out and assaulted at the supermarket by viewers because they play bad people on TV.

I'm sure we all know logically that acting is pretending. Therefore, a gay person can play a straight person, and vice-versa. Do you think that Eric Stonestreet's spot-on portrayal of a gay man on Modern Family is "hypocritical" because he's straight in real life?

The rumors about Rock Hudson's homosexuality go back to the 1960s. But I was able to enjoy McMillan and Wife even though I was fairly sure he wasn't really boffing Susan St. James.

 

[landtuna]

Really? Well, that's the kind of thing that gay actors have worried about, and why they don't come out. It reminds me of the stories I've heard about soap-opera villains getting cussed-out and assaulted at the supermarket by viewers because they play bad people on TV.

The better the actor the more the viewer has to remind themselves that it is only acting. ;D

Actually, assuming the supermarket fan isn't mentally defective, such an assault would be a sort of tribute to the actor.

I'm sure we all know logically that acting is pretending. Therefore, a gay person can play a straight person, and vice-versa. Do you think that Eric Stonestreet's spot-on portrayal of a gay man on Modern Family is "hypocritical" because he's straight in real life?

I'm not a viewer of Modern Family but I did know that the two actors with the adopted baby are reversing their real life roles.

The rumors about Rock Hudson's homosexuality go back to the 1960s. But I was able to enjoy McMillan and Wife even though I was fairly sure he wasn't really boffing Susan St. James.

There is a difference, at least to me, when someone who is gay in real life is portraying a romantic straight leading man role. Yes, I know it is the movies, but movie cowboys are expected to be able to ride horses. So it seems should someone portraying himself as a ladies man. After all, it was their decision, at least in recent years, to proclaim to the world their sexual preferences. If they don't want to give people reason to question then they don't need to make it a public announcement. I don't remember me or my close associates feeling the need to tell anonymous strangers my bedroom preferences.

 

[LKellerIII]

There is a difference, at least to me, when someone who is gay in real life is portraying a romantic straight leading man role. Yes, I know it is the movies, but movie cowboys are expected to be able to ride horses. So it seems should someone portraying himself as a ladies man. After all, it was their decision, at least in recent years, to proclaim to the world their sexual preferences. If they don't want to give people reason to question then they don't need to make it a public announcement. I don't remember me or my close associates feeling the need to tell anonymous strangers my bedroom preferences.

Well, yes - movie cowboys are expected to be able to ride horses. If they couldn't, they would fall off the horse. But I'm sure many more recent actors never rode a horse, until they were signed to a western movie (not many of them get made anymore), and had to be trained.

Did it bother you that none of the Ingalls women (Little House on the Prairie) never churned butter in real life? Or that few of the western actors ever shot six-shooters in real life?

I'll stop now - I'm just being argumentative for the hell of it, at this point. ;D

 

[landtuna]

Did it bother you that none of the Ingalls women (Little House on the Prairie) never churned butter in real life? Or that few of the western actors ever shot six-shooters in real life?

You're just trying to ruin my whole life, aren't you?

 

[EZway2go]

Why is this the lead story when so many actors, directors and movies were nominated for awards?
What about concentrating on the winners?

Those entertainment magazine-type shows live for this stuff. I remember a few years ago I wanted to know some of the winners of an award show I had missed the night before. So I turned on one of those shows and got the full scoop on who was wearing what on the red carpet and who showed up with whom at all the parties afterwards. Not once did they mention who the winners were—or, if they did, it was simply a preface to an interview on the red carpet. Regardless, a recap of the winners by category was nowhere to be found.

 

[justpassingthough]

Did it bother you that none of the Ingalls women (Little House on the Prairie) never churned butter in real life? Or that few of the western actors ever shot six-shooters in real life?

You're just trying to ruin my whole life, aren't you?

The man makes a valid point, though. Some people still have a problem with seeing an openly gay man playing a straight role, when no one bats an eye with Bryan Cranston playing a drug kingpin, which he most certainly is not in reality.

I'm sure most of people would proclaim that they "have no problem with gay people"- they just don't want to hear about it. Thats s a lame excuse, though. No, you didn't have to proclaim your bedroom preferences because you're most likely straight, like 90 to 95% of the population. The only way that double standard would work is if no straight actor ever talked about their wife/husband ever again, because then they've announced their orientation to the world.

I think its refereshing that most coming out stories are no longer stories anymore. Actors like Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer have just quitely given thanks to their partners in news articles or awards speeches and leave it at that. It will be a much better world when this isn't an issue at all.

 

[landtuna]

Some people still have a problem with seeing an openly gay man playing a straight role, when no one bats an eye with Bryan Cranston playing a drug kingpin, which he most certainly is not in reality.

Except that is not what I said. What I said was that Rock Hudson most probably did not want to leave a legacy of hypocrisy. It would be equivalent to Mel Gibson playing a Jewish rabbi. After his private life antics his acting would simply not be believable.

I'm sure most of people would proclaim that they "have no problem with gay people"- they just don't want to hear about it. Thats s a lame excuse, though. No, you didn't have to proclaim your bedroom preferences because you're most likely straight, like 90 to 95% of the population. The only way that double standard would work is if no straight actor ever talked about their wife/husband ever again, because then they've announced their orientation to the world.

No, it is definitely NOT a "lame excuse". I have yet to hear a straight husband seriously discuss his wife's love life (and I am purposely not counting comics whose wives are members of their routines). I have never discussed mine and would expect my wife to slap me up side my head if I ever did. I am not a prude but some topics are not discussed in polite company and I believe that is one of them. If OTA television shows are no longer considered polite company we have lost an important piece of our culture.

If gays are to eventually be accepted into society without prejudice they need to observe the same general rules that society places on all of us. What is tolerable between gays in a San Francisco bath house is not necessarily appropriate in a public awards ceremony.

Katy Couric once discussed her colonscopy on public TV in the context of encouraging others to get the procedure. That was disgusting, but appropriate. The announcement of mine at a civic awards ceremony is not.

I think its refereshing that most coming out stories are no longer stories anymore. Actors like Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer have just quitely given thanks to their partners in news articles or awards speeches and leave it at that. It will be a much better world when this isn't an issue at all.

I fully agree with the caveat that it seems no longer necessary for anyone to publicly announce their sexual orientation.

 

[justpassingthough]

I agree we've lost an important part of polite society if everyone is discussing what they've done in a San Francisco bath house. The problem is, though, is that you seem to equate gays and gay society with the bath house culture- which is like saying that all straight people are deviants because some straight men have extramarital affairs with hookers, like Eliot Spitzer.

Gay people will be accepted in this culture when people start to realize that your "average" gay person is no different from your "average" straight person. Yes, there are gay men who hang out in bath houses, but there are also straight people who use Craigslist and other technology for random sex.

From a different perspective, though, we can't say we live in a vacuum. There is certainly an ongoing civil rights struggle here. While I don't think Jodie Foster owed it to anyone to come out, I see why some people would be upset that she almost made light of the issue. She was only able to skirt the issue because brave men and women who came before her made an issue of being accepted for who they are.

 

[Markxxx]

And she's still not even "out," as she hemmed and hawed through the speech enough so there is enough room for her to deny it.

There's a big debate at Wikipedia, because there's no real definitive reference.

 

[searadiofreak]

Probably a deliberate attempt to put her back in the spotlight, and a few glasses of wine to add to the mix. Thus, the result.

 

[1069_KIFR]

On 'How I Met Your Mother', Neil Patrick Harris, a real life Gay Man, portrays a Ladies Man.
He plays that role very well, and people keep having to remind themselves that he is actually
gay.

 

[Markxxx]

And Valarie Harper portrayed a Jew very well. But usually it's not that simple.

It is laughable when you have someone like Jim J Bullock or (I forget his name) the guy who played Frasier's brother, playing the roles.

 

[FreddyE1977]

On 'How I Met Your Mother', Neil Patrick Harris, a real life Gay Man, portrays a Ladies Man.
He plays that role very well, and people keep having to remind themselves that he is actually
gay.

That's why they call it acting. Likewise many straight actors have given very convincing
performances in gay parts.

I am Catholic, and personally I always appreciate it when an actor or actress who is not
Catholic delivers a very respectful, authentic, human portrayal of a priest or a nun. I always
hoped that if I were ever chosen to play a Rabbi I could do as well.

 

[landtuna]

And Valarie Harper portrayed a Jew very well. But usually it's not that simple.

I don't remember seeing Valerie Harper verbally assaulting people on the streets because they might be Jewish.

It is laughable when you have someone like Jim J Bullock or (I forget his name) the guy who played Frasier's brother, playing the roles.

Jm J. Bullock played "Monroe" the gay male friend of the two daughters on "Too Close For Comfort". Although he was 'clearly' gay I don't remember them playing it up on the show.